The lottery for the statistically unwinnable $640 million jackpot has raised $1.5 billion in revenue. All paid gladly and voluntarily by thousands of hard working Americans. Hell, let's start a couple more lotteries and do away with income taxes, sales taxes, and property taxes.

More than $39 million in tickets were sold in the state since the jackpot began on January 24, lottery officials said, generating a net profit of $16.4 million for the state’s General Fund. The fund provides unrestricted aid to the budgets of cities and towns.

That's just in Massachusetts. Over $16mil in two months. Yet the same folks will raise hell about a few cents raise in the gas tax. But like I said, if they want to toss money away in the lottery and ease my tax burden, I'm all for it.

The US tax system has got to be the most confused, demented, loop-hole filled tax system in the world.
You know how it works in my country?
Taxes are based on income.
Depending on how much you make
So if I make $100,000 a year
And my rate is 15%
15% is deducted from my paycheck, and I get the rest
That's it
No filing taxes
No deductibles or deductions, or non taxable income or all the crap ww have here
No guessing what my taxes might be, and settling the tab at the end of the year
Simple
I think Europe is the same

You know how it works in my country?
Taxes are based on income.
Depending on how much you make
So if I make $100,000 a year
And my rate is 15%
15% is deducted from my paycheck, and I get the rest
That's it

That would certainly not be beneficial to most Americans. Much of the complication in the tax code is there to recognize that a person earning $100K with 3 kids, a mortgage, college loans, or day-care expenses needs a lower tax burden than a single person without those obligations. It's the exact same reason we have a graduated tax rate system, and it's also why it's completely illogical to stop graduating the tax rates when some arbitrary income level is reached.

So in terms of fairness, a simple tax system doesn't do well. I live in a f'ked up state where we have no income or sales tax. So most of the money comes from property taxes, and guess what, they're really high. Plus, it puts everyone with a certain value house in the same boat, no matter if you're a high-earner or retired, a spender or not, or paying out for your children.

That would certainly not be beneficial to most Americans. Much of the complication in the tax code is there to recognize that a person earning $100K with 3 kids, a mortgage, college loans, or day-care expenses needs a lower tax burden than a single person without those obligations. It's the exact same reason we have a graduated tax rate system, and it's also why it's completely illogical to stop graduating the tax rates when some arbitrary income level is reached.

So in terms of fairness, a simple tax system doesn't do well. I live in a f'ked up state where we have no income or sales tax. So most of the money comes from property taxes, and guess what, they're really high. Plus, it puts everyone with a certain value house in the same boat, no matter if you're a high-earner or retired, a spender or not, or paying out for your children.

while i don't disagree with your logic
it also means that there is an inherent advantge to those who can afford a tax consultant, and can find as many loopholes/deductions as possible
it sucks for those that can't afford that.
with a basic tax rate, there are no loopholes.
its unfair to all
which also, in a twisted way, makes it fair

get the money to afford some of the best accountants in the world and see how much you pay........

taxing based on lottery would be shamed upon, the libs would fight it because of it being a regressive tax

The CPA that does my taxes is also the Comptroller of a multi-billion dollar corporation, not that that is even needed. It's just a simple P&L, and I'm the only employee, except for some contract labor.

The person that does your taxes, though, isn't important. The favorable tax landscape that a given industry has it's lobbyists pay for, is. The Code is not over 5 million words long in an effort to be fair.

I can't decipher your second statement, but the fragment itself, with it's pejorative bent, is enough to instruct me to ignore the English version of it, should you choose to rewrite it.